No. 20 Nittany Lions Travel East to Battle Maryland Thursday
Penn State looks to extend winning streak against Terrapins to 11-consecutive matches
#20 Penn State at Maryland
9-3-2 | 3-2-1 B1G
3-7-4 | 0-5-1 B1G
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 20 Penn State women's soccer hits the road for the first time in the month of October this week, traveling east to visit the Maryland Terrapins in a 7 p.m. (ET) fixture from Ludwig Field. The match will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
Follow the Action
For fans of the Nittany Lions unable to attend Thursday’s Big Ten Conference road battle against the Maryland Terrapins, fans can tune in to the live stream of the match on B1G+ and the B1G+ app. Click the link here to be redirected to the live stream of the broadcast and sign in with credentials for access. Live stats provided by the University of Maryland and StatBroadcast are available here.
KICKIN’ IT
Despite an impressive connection for a score in the first five minutes of play that saw redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean tally her 11th goal of the 2024 campaign, then-No. 19 Penn State battled to a 1-1 draw with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday, October 4, from Jeffrey Field. Despite the deadlocked final score line, the Nittany Lions statistically dominated Rutgers in practically every element of the match. The Blue & White booked their second-most shots in Big Ten Conference play and logged their third-most shots on goal against a B1G challenger this season, attempting 20 total shots with 10 on-target opportunities in the match. PSU more than doubled Rutgers in both shots, 20-9, and shots on goal, 10-5, working to a 1-1 result against the run of play. The Scarlet Knights narrowly triumphed in the corner kick competition, outpacing PSU by a 5-4 margin.
The Scarlet Knights entered Friday night’s match receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, marking PSU’s eighth match of the year against a ranked or receiving-votes opponent, as well as the third such match in the last four outings. Penn State’s final five matches of the year feature three opponents who were ranked or receiving votes in this week’s poll, with all three of those tests coming on the road to close the 2024 Big Ten Conference regular season. MacBean continued her dominant string of individual performances last week, finding the back of the net for her 11th goal of the 2024 season as well as her team-best third goal in Big Ten Conference play. MacBean, a native of Excelsior, Minnesota, leads the Nittany Lions in overall scoring with 23 points in addition to B1G scoring with six points thus far.
TUFF ROAD AHEAD
Penn State will battle three additional teams in conference competition who are currently ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll released on October 8. PSU faces off against Ohio State (#8), USC (#19) and UCLA (RV) over the course of the next five matches, with three of those matchups coming on the road. The Blue & White have faced off against eight opponents to date that were either ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll at the time of the match, with the Nittany Lions cranking out a pair of ranked victories over those foes. PSU opened the year with a 4-0 thrashing of then-No. 4 Texas Tech, adding a 2-1 road win at then-No. 19 Saint Louis as well.
Next Up: Maryland
MATCHING MARYLAND
Under the direction of third-year head coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer, the Maryland Terrapins enter competition this weekend at home with a 3-7-4 overall record paired with an 0-5-1 start to Big Ten Conference competition. The Terrapins logged their only point of the B1G campaign on Thursday, September 26, as Maryland worked to a scoreless tie against the Northwestern Wildcats. UMD has not scored a goal in the Big Ten Conference portion of their schedule this season, and has been held scoreless since booking a 4-0 win over the VCU Rams at home on Sunday, September 8 earlier this year. The Terrapins have been outscored 23-13 through this point in 2024, holding opponents to 1.64 goals per match. Highly-touted defensive prospect Kennedy Bell leads the team in scoring with three goals and two assists for a total of eight points, while returning goalkeeper Liz Beardsley has tallied 1260 minutes for the Terrapins, logging a quartet of shutouts in 2024.
STORY OF THE SERIES
In an all-time series dating to the 1996 campaign, the Penn State women's soccer program maintains a dominant 16-4-0 record against the Maryland Terrapins heading into the 21st all-time meeting of the two teams this week in College Park. The Nittany Lions have never lost to the University of Maryland in women's soccer since the institution migrated to the Big Ten Conference ahead of the 2014 season, boasting an untouched 9-0-0 overall record in meetings as conference foes. The Blue & White are a perfect 10-0-0 in the last 10 meetings, with the Nittany Lions remaining perfect against UMD since the last Maryland win on November 14, 2004 in the NCAA Tournament. Last year's meeting on Jeffrey Field saw the Blue & White pick up their largest margin of victory over a Big Ten foe, rolling to a dominant 4-0 victory over the Terrapins at home with Kate Wiesner earning credit for the match-winning goal in the seventh.
Follow the Nittany Lions
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women’s soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.